Copyright Basics | Page 5

may claim copyright, but state laws may regulate the business
dealings involving copyrights owned by minors. For information on
relevant state laws, consult an attorney.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
COPYRIGHT AND NATIONAL ORIGIN OF THE WORK
Copyright protection is available for all unpublished works, regardless
of the nationality or domicile of the author. Published works are
eligible for copyright protection in the United States if *any* one of the
following conditions is met:
+ On the date of first publication, one or more of the authors is a
national or domiciliary of the United States, or is a national,
domiciliary, or sovereign authority of a treaty party,* or is a stateless
person wherever that person may be domiciled; or *A treaty party is a
country or intergovernmental organization other than the United States
that is a party to an international agreement.
+ The work is first published in the United States or in a foreign nation
that, on the date of first publication, is a treaty party. For purposes of
this condition, a work that is published in the United States or a treaty
party within 30 days after publication in a foreign nation that is not a
treaty party shall be considered to be first published in the United
States or such treaty party, as the case may be; or
+ The work is a sound recording that was first fixed in a treaty party; or
+ The work is a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work that is
incorporated in a building or other structure, or an architectural work
that is embodied in a building and the building or structure is located in
the United States or a treaty party; or
+ The work is first published by the United Nations or any of its
specialized agencies, or by the Organization of American States; or
+ The work is a foreign work that was in the public domain in the
United States prior to 1996 and its copyright was restored under the
Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA). Request "Highlights of

Copyright Amendments Contained in the Uruguay Round Agreements
Act (URAA-GATT), [http://www.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ38b.pdf],
for further information.
+ The work comes within the scope of a Presidential proclamation.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WHAT WORKS ARE PROTECTED?
Copyright protects "original works of authorship" that are fixed in a
tangible form of expression. The fixation need not be directly
perceptible so long as it may be communicated with the aid of a
machine or device. Copyrightable works include the following
categories:
+ (1) literary works; + (2) musical works, including any accompanying
words + (3) dramatic works, including any accompanying music + (4)
pantomimes and choreographic works + (5) pictorial, graphic, and
sculptural works + (6) motion pictures and other audiovisual works +
(7) sound recordings + (8) architectural works
These categories should be viewed broadly. For example, computer
programs and most "compilations" may be registered as "literary
works"; maps and architectural plans may be registered as "pictorial,
graphic, and sculptural works."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WHAT IS NOT PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT?
Several categories of material are generally not eligible for federal
copyright protection. These include among others:
+ Works that have *not* been fixed in a tangible form of expression
(for example, choreographic works that have not been notated or
recorded, or improvisational speeches or performances that have not
been written or recorded)
+ Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans; familiar symbols or designs;
mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, or coloring;
mere listings of ingredients or contents
+ Ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles,
discoveries, or devices, as distinguished from a description, explanation,
or illustration
+ Works consisting *entirely* of information that is common property
and containing no original authorship (for example: standard calendars,
height and weight charts, tape measures and rulers, and lists or tables

taken from public documents or other common sources)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOW TO SECURE A COPYRIGHT
Copyright Secured Automatically upon Creation
The way in which copyright protection is secured is frequently
misunderstood. No publication or registration or other action in the
Copyright Office is required to secure copyright. (See following Note.)
There are, however, certain definite advantages to registration. See
"Copyright Registration." Copyright is secured *automatically* when
the work is created, and a work is "created" when it is fixed in a copy
or phonorecord for the first time. "Copies" are material objects from
which a work can be read or visually perceived either directly or with
the aid of a machine or device, such as books, manuscripts, sheet music,
film, videotape, or microfilm. "Phonorecords" are material objects
embodying fixations of sounds (excluding, by statutory definition,
motion picture soundtracks), such as cassette tapes, CDs, or LPs. Thus,
for example, a song (the "work") can be fixed in sheet music (" copies")
or in phonograph disks (" phonorecords"), or both.
If a work is prepared over a period of